I am a single mother by choice, blessed with my daughter Raphaela, conceived and born in Jerusalem in October 2009. Raising a happy and healthy child; balancing work, parenthood and relationships; with the additional challenge of doing it on my own, in Israel.

Monday, June 20, 2011

They Pull Me Back In

(Yet another Godfather reference)

At pick-up today, Raphaela and I stayed in Gan later than usual, playing in the sand box and talking to some of the other parents; we have gotten friendlier as the 'academic year' comes to a close. One of the parents, an Israeli woman married to an American man, said that she was baffled as to why her daughter, when asked a question, replies with a casual surfer-dude "Yah" as opposed to a proper "Yes" in Hebrew or English. Her confusion ended when she heard Raphaela use the phrase.

Raphaela and some of the other girls her age apparently hang out together, speaking in their secret language and picking up each other's habits, like teenagers having a pajama party.

I mentioned that Raphaela and I were planning on going to Gymboree this afternoon, and one of the other mothers joined us with her daughter. They had joined the Gan in the middle of the year, and her daughter was having trouble adjusting to a new place; I felt like she would appreciate the invitation and the company.

Turns out (three guesses, and you get only one...) she is a non-religious Israeli SMBC, a woman one year older than me, who lives down the street and works crazy hours in hi-tech. She is lucky enough to have a mother still living and close by, who can baby sit and help out on a regular basis.

Once again that destiny of mine crept up on me, my vision of opening a center to advocate for the rights of single parents in Israel. I had pursued this direction one month ago, contacting various agencies that had initiated similar projects. I was told (no exhageration) that the people who had been given the task were doing it badly, but because their names were on the letterhead, I had to fit into the faulty program, rather than spearhead a movement that could truly help men and women raising their children on their own.

No comments:

Harry The Highlander

The "Other" Shopping List

Tall

Non Jewish (European) or Sephardi

Not Allergic to Cats

Creative/Gainfully Employed

Educated/Intelligent

Non-Smoker

Healthy/Low- None Hereditary Diseases

Left-handed

Carpe Diem

There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.
(Howard Thurman)